Brought to you by Swiss French School. On 1 January 2019, Switzerland’s federal government tightened and harmonised the rules on language requirements to qualify for some residence permits, B and C permits in particular, and … [Read more...]
News and Features

Swiss unemployment rises in January
Switzerland’s labour market weakened further at the start of 2026. The unemployment rate rose to 3.2% in January, up 0.1 percentage points from December, marking a second consecutive monthly increase after stagnating in November, according to data … [Read more...]

Switzerland plans text alerts to supplement sirens
Switzerland’s annual test of its civil-defence sirens was largely successful. Nearly 99% of the country’s roughly 5,000 alarms functioned properly during the nationwide drill on Wednesday, according to the Federal Office of Civil Protection. The … [Read more...]

Swiss cohesion weakens but remains robust in everyday life
Social cohesion in Switzerland is weakening overall, but remains robust in everyday life. That is the picture painted by the second Cohesion in Switzerland barometer, published on Wednesday by the polling institute Sotomo. Respondents see direct … [Read more...]

Is the latest Swiss Olympic bid against the will of the people?
Switzerland may bid to host the 2038 Winter Olympics—despite a long record of public resistance, reports SRF. Voters rejected Olympic projects in cantonal referendums in 2013, 2017 and 2018—Graubunden twice then Valais. This time, however, the … [Read more...]
Guides

8 things you must do if you’re running a Swiss business
Brought to you by Winbiz online accounting for Swiss businesses. Once a business is established, there are many ongoing administrative tasks required by law. The main ones are covered in this article. The first few relate to employees and … [Read More...]

8-step guide to hiring a nanny in Switzerland
Brought to you by quitt.ch - No. 1 provider of registration and administration services for domestic help in Switzerland. 1. What do nannies cost in Switzerland? Nannies are expensive in Switzerland. Average monthly salaries range from CHF 3,300 to … [Read More...]
Activities

Montreux to Gruyères on the chocolate train. Switzerland’s most delicious trip.
By Bill Harby Sorry Willy Wonka, but you won’t want to eat your mode of transportation on The Chocolate Train tour. However, yes, before the day is out, you will taste delicious Swiss chocolate and cheese, and still have time to explore one of the … [Read more...]

Foxtrail – an adventure game on the streets of Lausanne
As we zoomed down the metro line, the puzzle unfolded with the first clue we were given: watch for the fox’s green paw print on the rail track. Later, during our half-day adventure chasing the “fox”, we had to figure out a series of other clues: a … [Read more...]

The best way to save forests, according to a forester
Last summer, two mates and I set out on what turned out to be a “bridge-too-far” walking project. Switzerland is blessed with more than 60,000 km of walking trails crowned by seven iconic National Routes. The National Route 5 (which extends as the … [Read more...]

